Hi all! I've been away from this forum for a bit, but am now back! Nice to see some familiar names still around, and so many new members. =) I'll get back into the swing of things with a quick puzzle...

I'd always thought that there was something wrong with him. It was only later that I found out that I was the one to blame, but though I felt bad, there was no way to apologise.

Hi Jackie! I still remember your spider versponse... wish we had figured out the answer before you left. Hi Matt! I'm so sorry about the spider versponse. You guys actually had indeed figured out the answer, and I was getting ready to write a long, poetic $poyler narrative. Unfortunately that summer was such a crazy time (graduation, looking for my first job, getting my first job, moving cities etc) and by the time I got back to find it I was heartbroken to discover that I'd been a bit too late and it had been deleted! =( Next time I'll write the $p0iler at the same time as the opening puzzle verse, and hold it in readiness...I'm flattered that you remember it though, it was such a long time ago!

Is the character from a TV show? No"No way to apologize": Had the show ended? So no

Ciaobella:

Had you misunderstood something about the character? Yope About something else? No

Was the fictional character from some sort of advertisement? No From a story you heard socially? No From a song? No A fable? No A traditional folk tale? No a poem? No

If none of the above, let's go to more general categories: is the fictional character from something you read? heard? saw (not counting reading something as seeing it)? I'd give a yes to both 'heard' and 'saw', because I could indeed hear and see him, but be careful of lurking FA

When you say you thought there was something wrong with him, did you: Think there was a bug in the software? Yes, mainly thisThink the character was unable to complete a task that he actually could complete? No

Thank you for taking a look at my puzzle Noel! I'll give a recap and hints.

I created a character on The Sims, and called him Sam. One day I noticed something which implied that there was something wrong with him, most likely a system error. Later, I found that it was actually my fault, but since he was merely a computer game character, there was no way to apologise to him.

Some Sims background:You can create Sims, determining their facial features, body type, ambitions, and personality. They live in a house, and go about their daily lives- eating, bathing, sleeping etc, and like most adventure characters, they have a personal inventory. You can control their movements by making them interact with things/people around them, but they also have their own free will. When hungry, they may fix themselves some lunch, when sleepy, they will go to bed, and so on. They also react to things around them spontaneously. When a loved one dies, they have bouts of grief for a few days; when they see something they dislike or something that smells bad, they express disgust; when they see an enemy, they express anger. You now have all you need to know to solve this puzzle, even without having played the Sims!

Also - So regardless of the exact emotion, we know that you thought there was something wrong with your character that was in some way related to a negative emotion along the lines of irritation, anger, and frustration, right?

Did you think there was something wrong with him: because of the way he displayed the emotion in reaction to other Sims? because of the way he displayed the emotion in reaction to a command you gave him? to a command you didn't give him? because of the way he displayed the emotion in reaction to an object? because of the way he failed to display the emotion when you expected him to?

Also - So regardless of the exact emotion, we know that you thought there was something wrong with your character that was in some way related to a negative emotion along the lines of irritation, anger, and frustration, right? Yup, it was disgust, you got it.

Did you think there was something wrong with him: because of the way he displayed the emotion in reaction to other Sims? Nobecause of the way he displayed the emotion in reaction to a command you gave him? No to a command you didn't give him? No, but this question is interestingbecause of the way he displayed the emotion in reaction to an object? Yopebecause of the way he failed to display the emotion when you expected him to? No

Was it off screen in that: You were looking at a different section of the house than where it was? You had put it into storage? It was technically on screen, in that it was contained in the area you were viewing, but it was not visible?

Was it off screen in that: You were looking at a different section of the house than where it was? You had put it into storage? Yes!!It was technically on screen, in that it was contained in the area you were viewing, but it was not visible?

I was playing the Sims when I noticed that one of my characters, Sam, seemed to express disgust at completely random moments. Whenever he did it, I'd look around for any evidence of leftover plates, dirty surroundings, and find nothing! "Weirdo," I thought. "There must be something wrong with him." One day, I happened to be looking through his inventory for something, and I found a stinky, old, mouldy muffin lurking in there! I'd put it in ages ago and forgotten all about it. Poor old Sam had been going around for days with a decomposing muffin in his pocket. No wonder he seemed disgusted! It was my fault, and I'd misunderstood him all along... =P

Apologies to all for how slow-moving this puzzle became, I guess I overestimated people's knowledge/interest in the Sims. And thank you so much to those who stuck with it, especially Noel and Shez!